Philosophy For Our Times The Institute of Art and Ideas

From remote groups in Papua New Guinea to Pentecostal Christians, what can values and desires around the world tell us about the nature of morality? Cambridge anthropologist Joel Robbins tours the globe in search of the good.

Joel Robbins is the Sigrid Rausing Professor of Social Anthropology at Cambridge University and author of Becoming Sinners. He specialises in the anthropology of religion and anthropological theory.

For millenia, humans have looked to philosophy to help them understand the world, but why is it then that so many people find philosophy confusing? Is the confusion perhaps part of the solution?

Philosopher of logic Timothy Williamson outlines how philosophy can help us think more clearly, such as Alan Turing's use of logic to invent the computer, how the principles of logic can be understood as the laws of reality, and the importance of debate in making philosophy more inclusive.

From populist demagogues to liberal elites, Fox News to the BBC, the warring tribes of our troubled world agree on few ideals and still fewer facts. Yet they all share the belief that they are right. Are we all suffering from the illusion that we can uncover the truth?

Should we embrace a world of competing facts while still seeking a progressive and stable society? Or do we need new grand narratives to help us escape a dangerous, relativistic world?

Post-Capitalism author Paul Mason, Cambridge sociologist Ella McPherson, philosopher and former editor of The World This Week Hilary Lawson question whether it is ever really possible to report the truth. Roger Bolton hosts.

What does mathematics have to do with the nature of human thought? How does it change how philosophers think of reality?

Philosopher and author of 'Ineffability and its Metaphysics', Silvia Jonas explains how mathematics has come to shape our politics, ethics and our very idea of what the world is.

In a post-truth world, tribal agreement seems to have replaced reason and evidence. But is a world where our truths are tribal sustainable? Don't we need a shared framework of thought to prevent fragmentation and confrontation? Can we rely on evidence and reason whilst abandoning absolute truth, or do we need reality after all?

Philosopher and novelist Rebecca Goldstein, post-colonial theorist Homi Bhabha and post-postmodern metaphysician Hilary Lawson confront the future of the post-truth world.

We all get dressed. But how often do we pause to think about the place of clothes in our lives? Can a philosophy of living be wrapped up in a winter coat? Can we see a suit not just as an object, but as an idea?

Philosopher, broadcaster, and author of 'Dressed: The Secret Life of Clothes', Shahidha Bari, unveils the hidden power of what we wear.